Catalytic incineration systems are used to remove volatile organic compounds and odors from exhaust gases. In a typical catalytic incineration system, the gas is directed across a catalytic material which can constitute a noble metal, such as platinum, or alternately a base metal such as manganese dioxide. The catalytic bed is operated at a temperature in the range of about 500.degree. F. to 800.degree. F., and serves to convert hydrocarbons in the gas to carbon dioxide and water vapor. A catalytic incineration system has distinct advantages over a thermal fume system, due to the fact that the thermal fume system operates at higher temperatures in the neighborhood of 1400.degree. F. and thus has higher energy requirements.
To conserve energy, most catalytic incineration systems incorporate a heat exchanger in which the incoming gas is preheated by the gas being discharged from the catalytic reactor. It has been found that if a gas is heavily laden with particulate material, the particulates will tend to condense on the heat exchanger core resulting in a loss of heat transfer effectiveness, and will also condense and clog the catalyst, resulting in a substantial loss of catalytic activity. Because of this, catalytic incineration systems have not been successfully utilized with gases containing high proportions of particulate material.